


out there somewhere

by layC



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon, future choni, i might add penelope blossom for more angst later so watch out for that? i think, idk what else to tag tbh, oh and choni baby will happen, tw mentions of guns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-05-09 18:59:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14721773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/layC/pseuds/layC
Summary: When Toni finds herself in debt to a powerful man, she finds the only way to keep her family safe is to leave them all behind.





	out there somewhere

**Author's Note:**

> hello everyone! this is just a story i came up with because i'm sort of got writers block for 'take my love and take it down'. i've got an idea where i want to go with this but unlike my other fic, i don't have a complete outline so i'll be going with the flow a lot more with this than the other fic. as for take my love, the next chapter i coming (i really appreciate all the comments there) but i just need to figure out how i want to write everything. anyways, i hope you all like this fic. the chapters will be a lot shorter than take my love and i tried a different writing style so let's see how that goes. enjoy!

“I have what you want, fucking let her go.”

Toni’s eyes land on Cheryl bound to a wooden chair, her girlfriend’s eyes wide with fear as she shakes in her seat. Toni desperately wants to run to her, let her know that everything will be okay but she knows that if she does, a five month pregnant Cheryl will be dead before she could get there. It terrifies her that the don could take not only Cheryl away from her but their baby too. 

“Toni…” Cheryl manages to whispers through her exhaustion. 

Toni silently pleads for Cheryl not to give up, for her and their baby, and through years of being together, sometimes a look between them said more than words could.  
“I’ll get you out of there, Cheryl. You’ll be okay.” Toni adds for good measure though she knows that she shouldn’t make promises she can’t keep. 

She hears the don, Rick— or rather, Rocky Rick as they liked to call him, laugh behind Cheryl. It hits one of Toni’s nerves and she lunges forward but the knife in Roberto’s hand presses harder against Cheryl’s neck and stops Toni. 

“Uh-uh, Topaz. You know better.” He turns the knife slightly so that the sharp side is against Cheryl’s skin. Toni hates that she can’t do anything but clench her fists and watch as he tortures the both of them. “You make one wrong move and you’ll be watching your lover bleed out along with your baby.” 

Toni stays put but she remains strong, at least she tries to, “I have what you want. Just let her go, please.” She repeats and her ‘please’ comes out softer than she intends to. Her body is slowly betraying her. The suitcase in her hand seems to weigh 500 tons and her knees start to give in as she stands in front of the man who can take everything away from her.” 

“Open it.” Rick orders but Toni shakes her head. 

“Not until I know that she’s safe. Let her go.” Toni negotiates and a smile spread across Rick’s lips. It gives Toni the creeps whenever he smiles. It far from a friendly one. It reminds her of clowns which is one of the very few things she fears in life, next to losing her family.

Rick gives his men a nod and they instantly rush to Cheryl’s chair, cutting her hands and legs free. The redhead jumps out of her seat and runs into Toni’s arms, her entire weight falling onto the smaller girl. Toni manages to catch Cheryl and hold her up. She could feel Cheryl’s heart pounding against her chest and Toni knows that the stress of all of this couldn’t be healthy for Cheryl or their baby. 

Toni throws the suitcase onto the floor and as Rick reaches to pick it up, she turns around with Cheryl and heads towards the door. They’re almost out when Rick calls out for Toni. She closes her eyes and braces herself for what’s to come next. She could feel Cheryl tugging on her arm, desperately wanting to leave. They’re done with their business with Rick, they don’t need to answer to him anymore.

As Cheryl pulls on her hand, Toni pulls it back and shakes her head. “Sweet Pea, Fangs, Jug and Betty are waiting for you out there.” 

“I’m not leaving without you.” Cheryl tries at another tug on Toni’s hand but it’s no use. The Serpent stays where she is as if her feet were glued to the floor. 

“I’ll be right out. Please.” Toni begs softly. She wants her girlfriend and their baby to be safe and leaving was the only way for that to happen. She can tell that Cheryl doesn’t want to leave without her and usually, what Cheryl wants, Cheryl gets especially with Toni but not this time. Toni gives her hand a tight squeeze and adds another, “Please”. 

“If you’re not out in fifteen minutes, I’m coming back in here.” Cheryl doesn’t care who hears her. In fact, she wants Rick and his men to hear her. She’s exhausted and her body can collapse at any second now but the thought of Toni getting hurt gives Cheryl the adrenaline rush she needs to bash these men’s faces in.  
With one last look at the Rick and his men, Cheryl turns around and walks out the door, leaving Toni in a room of men who are three times her size. Unlike before, she now notices the guns strapped to their belts. 

“You know better than to do this, Antoinette…” Toni doesn’t turn around but she hears Rick’s voice getting closer. “This isn’t the amount I asked for.” He stops behind her and Toni’s breathing picks up as he places his hands on her waist. She flinches at his touch and it only makes him grip her tighter. 

“I told you I don’t have enough to pay you back right now.” Toni replies through her teeth. 

“And I told you that I wasn’t going to take anything except the $10,000 you owe me.” 

“I—I don’t have it.” She tells him honestly. Toni expects a knife across her throat or a gun to her head but instead, she feels her hair being brushed behind her ear and the tips of his rough fingers grazing the shell of her ear. It’s a soft gesture but all she feels is disgust because of the man behind it. 

“Well, then you still need to pay me back.” Rick’s warm breath against her ear makes Toni cringe. “Don’t forget you wouldn’t have had that baby without me.” 

“I’ll have the money to you by next month.” Toni promises. She finds the courage to turn around and step away, her back hitting against the door. She’s still within arm’s reach but she feels a lot safer than she did with his hands on her. 

“It’s won’t be that easy, Topaz. You’re late and now, you owe me much more than just money.” Toni’s mind races with all the possibilities of what he wants. She’s never felt more  
vulnerable than she does now. Although she is out of his grasp, she doesn’t feel so safe anymore. 

“I want you to work for me.” He finally says and Toni looks at him in disbelief. 

“What do you mean?” 

“You’re good, Topaz. You’re so much more than the stupid, childish gang you’re already in.” Rick takes a step back but Toni feels as though she still can’t breathe. “From what I’ve seen, you can roll with the big boys. You can work for me.” 

Toni shakes her head and without hesitation, refusing his offer. “No.” Working for Rick is a lot more dangerous than being a part of the Serpents. These are the men that Hiram Lodge works with and they do business on a whole other level than the Serpents. 

When Toni has gotten in between a Serpents and Ghoulies issue in the past, she is calm and confident. The moves that both gangs pull are quite predictable. But with Rocky Rick, she can see a darkness in his and his men’s eyes that she’s never seen before. For the first time in a long time, she actually feels as small as she physically is. It’s an unusual feeling and it scares her. She doesn’t think she can make it back to Cheryl in time and she doesn’t want to bring her girlfriend back into another problem she created for herself. 

“It wasn’t a question, Topaz.” Rick states as he begins to pace the room. If Toni didn’t have her back against the door, he would have circled her the same way a shark circles its next meal. “I’ll give you a week to decide.” 

It’s a trick and Toni knows it, but she still asks: “And if I don’t get back to you,” it’s not a matter of her wanting to do it or not but rather if she’s willing to deal with the consequences if she doesn’t. 

“Well, then you can kiss your lover and the abomination she’s carrying, goodbye.” Rick stops for a moment before taking a step towards Toni. “If you try to run, hide, you know I will find you, Topaz.” 

At this point, Toni is back where she started. She’s stuck. The money she earned to pay off some of her debt is useless. Somehow, Cheryl and their baby are always going to be involved. 

“You have a week.” Rick reminds her before turning around to walk back to his seat, cuing Toni to turn around as well and out the door.

The outside air should be refreshing after spending what felt like hours inside of that dark house but instead, she still feels like she’s suffocating. She doesn’t realize that she’s actually made it out until a pair of arms wrap around her and a she smells a familiar scent. It’s Cheryl. The arms that once made her feel safe is now making her chest tighten. 

“I was about to barge right back in.” Cheryl pulls away, keeping Toni at an arms-length as she examines her. No visible cuts or bruises but the blank expression on Toni’s face doesn’t go unnoticed by her. “You’re okay. He didn’t hurt you, did he?” 

Toni shakes her head ‘no’ before she engulfs Cheryl into a hug, burying her face into the taller girl’s neck. She so desperately wants to feel that comfort that Cheryl gives her but she can’t. Not when the guilt is eating away at her. She tried to keep Cheryl safe from getting hurt by Rick but in the end, it is going to be Toni that would be the cause of Cheryl’s pain. 

“I’m fine. I just want to go home.” Toni mumbles into Cheryl’s neck and she feels the other’s chin dip against her temp as she nods. 

They both pull away from each other but Toni grasps onto Cheryl’s hand tightly. They walk over to Sweet Pea, Fangs, Jughead and Betty waiting for them. Toni looks at the worried looks on their faces. As they get closer, she could see them all contemplating on whether to comfort her or give her space. 

It’s Jughead who steps forward first. He takes Toni into his arms, prompting Cheryl to tug her hand away but Toni tightens her hold on it. It puts them all in an awkward position, the three of them tangled up together but Toni refuses to let go. 

Betty is next and then Fangs. Sweet Pea stays where he is, beside Jughead’s car. Toni could feel his eyes on her, studying her carefully. Other than Cheryl, Sweet Pea is the only person who can read her right. Fangs can too but Sweet Pea goes deeper than just the surface of Toni Topaz. She avoids his eyes as the other three surround her. 

“Let’s get you home.” Fangs says as he offers her a comforting smile. 

“I don’t think you should ride your bike home. I’ll take it and Betty could drive you two in the car.” Jughead suggests which is very like him to take on the leadership role in times like this. 

Toni nods and the three disperse, Fangs to his bike, Jughead to Toni’s bike after she gives him the keys and Betty and Cheryl to Jughead’s car. It’s Sweet Pea that sticks around and Toni knows why. He sees right through her as she tries to keep her composure. She never lets anyone else ride her bike except for that one time she was trying to teach Cheryl. 

“What happened in there?” Sweet Pea looks down at Toni as he towers over her. Unlike with Rick’s men, she doesn’t feel incredibly smaller than Sweet Pea even though she is. She doesn’t feel as though he can hurt her because she knows he won’t. 

“Don’t worry about it, Pea.” Toni shakes her head as she pushes past him. 

Sweet Pea takes one step to the side and is once again back in front of Toni, blocking her from leaving. “Really? You’re going to do this?” 

“Look, Pea. Not right now… Please?” Toni is tired and she hopes that Sweet Pea can see that. 

With that, Sweet Pea lets her go. Toni moves past him and this time he doesn’t stop her. She silently slips into Jughead’s car with Betty and Cheryl as Sweet Pea mounts his bike.  
The six of them drive off into the night, on their way to the home Cheryl and Toni share. During the ride, Toni wonders if she can ever feel truly safe inside of their home again.  
She doesn’t think she can. Not when just hours earlier, her girlfriend was taken away from it. 

Nothing can keep Rocky Rick from doing the same thing again and next time, he might do something worse. There was only one thing that Toni could do to keep her family safe.

**Author's Note:**

> feedback will be greatly appreciated :)


End file.
